Celebrating Filipino American History Month
Who knew? Chicago boasts one of the largest and most vibrant groups of Filipino Americans in the United States. Many of these individuals live in the Uptown, Edgewater, and Rogers Park neighborhoods.
Photo courtesy of the Philippine Consulate General - Chicago website
To celebrate Filipino American History Month, a reception was held on October 12 at the Edgewater Branch Library (see photos below). The program featured Consul General J. Susana V. Paez of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago who bestowed a gift of 14 children’s books to the Chicago Public Library on behalf of the people of the Philippines. The books, written in Tagalog and or bilingual with English, were accepted by Edgewater Branch Manager Joanna Hazelden and will be available through the Chicago Public Library system.
Other presenters were 48th Ward Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, the first Filipina elected to the Chicago City Council and Tito Ruben Salazar of the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago who discussed local Filipino history.
Photo courtesy Chicago Public Library Catalogue
Chicago-based Filipino American authors Rey de la Cruz, who wrote Ballesteros on My Mind, and Zee Lacson, who wrote Twice Removed, read from their books. In addition, Ron Eric Edrosa and his wife, Vilma, owners of Veloria Coffee, a local coffee roaster who supplied coffee for the event, shared their Filipino backgrounds and entrepreneurial experience.
Created by the founders of the Filipino American National Historical Society, Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, and her husband, Dr. Fred Cordova, in 1992, Filipino American History Month commemorates the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the United States, when the “Luzones Indios” arrived on October 18, 1857, landing at Morro Bay, California.
The Chicago Public Library hosted this commemorative event in partnership with the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago, the Filipino American Historical Society, the Philippine Film Development Council, 48th Ward Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, and Friends of the Edgewater Library.
Filipino Amaerican History Month Resources
Filipino Authors available at CPL
Filipino Nurses in America - ABC news story
Other Filipino American Resources available
https://oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1913236019/1991764159 https://electricliterature.com/books-by-filipino-american-authors-you-should-be-reading/
https://www.chipublib.org/blogs/post/filipino-american-history-month-books-for-kids/
https://storytimesolidarity.com/representation-matters-filipino-month/
https://www.chipublib.org/the-81-club/
https://www.chipublib.org
https://www.eglendalelac.org/filipino-american
https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/portrait-graduate
A Teen Reading List for Filipino American History Month - Available at the Edgewater Branch or the larger CPL system
1. **I Was Their American Dream** by Malaka Gharib
- **Type:** Graphic Memoir
- **Availability:** CPL collection
2. **Flamer** by Mike Curato
- **Type:** Graphic Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
3. **A Thousand Beginnings and Endings** edited by Ellen Oh
- **Type:** Anthology
- **Availability:** CPL collection
4. **The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart** by R. Zamora Linmark
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
5. **Love From A to Z** by S.K. Ali
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
6. **My Heart Underwater** by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
7. **The Queen's Assassin** by Melissa De la Cruz
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
8. **Patron Saints of Nothing** by Randy Ribay
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
9. **The Gilded Wolves** by Roshani Chokshi
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
10. **Where Dreams Descend** by Janella Angeles
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
11. **Turtle Under Ice** by Juleah Del Rosario
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
12. **What Things Mean** by Sophie N. Lee
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
13. **The Body Papers: A Memoir** by Grace Talusan
- **Type:** Memoir
- **Availability:** CPL collection
14. **When the Moon Was Ours** by Anna-Marie McLemore
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** CPL collection
15. **Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors** by Michelle Sterling
- **Type:** Fantasy
- **Availability:** Edgewater Branch
16. **Maribel's Year** by Michelle Sterling
- **Type:** Novel
- **Availability:** Edgewater Branch
17. **Dancing Hands: A Story of Friendship in Filipino Sign Language** by Joanna Que and Charina Marquez
- **Type:** Children's Book (also suitable for teens)
- **Availability:** Edgewater Branch